A Great Anniversary (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Before his first anniversary with Jess, Cody asks Steve for advice.


**Notes:** Mari and Sammy – Thank you for the fabulous feedback as always and for being LA FAMIGLIA in so many ways.

Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your amazing support! Your excitement for the next chapter in the REAL World is so heartwarming and very much appreciated.

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _A Great Anniversary (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

"What's 'anniversary'?" Jacob asked as he stepped out into his backyard where Steve was at the picnic table setting up Minion Memory with Dylan. Jenna, Kaitlyn, and Casey were out with Catherine, and Steve had opted to stay with the boys at their house.

He looked up, pausing momentarily in laying the cards face down in rows. "What?"

"I just heard Cody on the phone," Jacob continued. He climbed onto the bench across from Steve and Dylan. "He said he doesn't know what to do for his anniversary with Jess."

"Oh … um," Steve glanced toward the house, "it's a uh … a special date that's remembered every year. In this case, one that's celebrated. He probably means it's the anniversary of his first date with Jess."

Beside him Dylan put his finger in his open mouth and made a gagging noise. "Romance stuff," he groused, and Steve chuckled at his reaction.

"Celebrated?" Jacob asked, his face brightening. "Like a party?"

"Um … sometimes, I think," Steve said, his brow creasing slightly. "If it's a big anniversary. But not always. Sometimes it's just something two people do together."

Cody came out the back door and headed toward them.

"Cody!" Jacob cried, turning to face him. "Are you gonna have a anniversary party with Jess?"

"What?" Cody asked, confused.

"If you do, just make sure there's no kissing," Dylan said, continuing to flip cards over.

"You could have it in the backyard!" Jacob said, looking around as if already envisioning the scene.

Cody sat beside him. "I'm not … there's no party."

Jacob slumped in his seat. "Oh. But you _gotta_ celebrate. Uncle Steve said."

"Hey, I didn't say …" Steve began when Cody looked at him curiously. "I mean, you can, if you want. I was just giving the definition."

"And I like Jess!" Jacob went on. "I want to have a anniversary!"

Cody blinked. "You …"

"Jacob, weren't you supposed to bring out the snacks?" Dylan asked.

"Oh yeah!" he said, jumping up. "Help me, Dylan! I can't carry the juice boxes, too."

Dylan sighed but stood up. "Okay, okay, come on."

The two boys headed for the house, and Cody reached for a card, turning it over.

Steve looked at him with a small grin. "Anniversary?"

Cody sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. With Jess. Our first date was a year ago."

"Well, congratulations," Steve said, nodding happily. "What are you gonna do?"

Cody groaned helplessly. "I don't know." He looked at Steve. "You got any ideas?"

Steve chuckled. "You should talk to Danny, he loves anniversaries." Cody gave him a quizzical look, and Steve waved it off. "Don't overthink it," he continued. "It doesn't have to be a big production."

"Well, that's good, 'cause I don't think I'm really a big production kind of guy."

Steve's lip quirked in a half smile, and he nodded.

"What'd you do?" Cody asked, flipping another card. "For your first anniversary."

"Um …" Steve said, scratching his head. "Would you believe the first time Catherine and I actually celebrated an anniversary was two years ago?"

Cody stopped mid-flip, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Really?"

"Really. We're … our relationship was never very conventional and that just … it wasn't something we needed to do." He nodded to Cody. "But we've talked before about this, every relationship is different. You gotta do what's right for you."

Cody's brow creased slightly in thought. "Why'd you finally decide to do something?"

Steve chuckled. "It was actually because of Danny. He said anniversaries are about there being something worth remembering. And he was right." He stopped, pointing at Cody. "Don't tell him I said that."

Cody grinned.

Steve smiled and said, "So if the two of you want to do something to celebrate your anniversary, you should do it."

"I want it to be … you know … special. Romantic."

"Okay," Steve said, nodding. "Well, you could do dinner. I've been told by a reliable source that dinner can be very romantic. Just make sure there's a waiter," he added with a wry smile. His expression softened. "The important thing is to be together. That's what makes it special."

The back door opened, and both Steve and Cody looked to see the boys coming back out, their arms laden with snacks.

Steve spoke again with a final piece of advice, bringing Cody's attention back to him. "And hey, enjoy it." He smiled. "It's your anniversary, too."

* * *

Two days later, Cody stood on his front step waiting. He ran a hand over his tie and checked his phone once more, calculating the time between Jess' last text and now.

He looked up as he heard a car approaching and felt his heart speed up when he saw her in the driver's seat. Not for the first time he thought of his conversation last year with Steve about relationships.

She pulled into the driveway, smiling at him, and he swore his heart skipped a beat. He started toward the car, eager to see her face at his surprise. As he walked, he motioned her to get out of the car. Confused, she turned off the ignition and opened the door to stand.

"I thought were were going to dinner," she asked, smoothing out her dress.

"We are," he said.

"Wh–"?" Her voice broke off when he took her hand, and she looked at him curiously as he led her around the side of the house to the backyard.

She gasped when she saw the scene.

Tissue paper flowers and lights were strung from the house to the trees. Light music played from a small CD player near the backdoor. The picnic table was covered in a white tablecloth and was surrounded by Allens, all dressed up in black and white.

"Happy anniversary!" they chorused, and Jess laughed happily.

Kaitlyn ran over and handed Cody a rose, grinning at Jess before running back to stand by the table with her mother and siblings.

Cody smiled, handing Jess the rose. "Happy anniversary," he said simply.

"You …" she began, looking around at the beaming family. "You guys … this is so amazing." She looked back at Cody, smiling softly. "I love it."

His heart swelled at her reaction.

"I hope you're hungry," Jenna said. "Cody's made a great dinner."

"You made dinner?" she asked him, her smile widening.

He shrugged. "Well, everybody kind of helped."

"I said he should make mac and cheese," Jacob said. "Cody makes the best mac and cheese."

"I know," Jess said with a grin.

Jacob frowned. "But Kaitlyn said it's not 'romantic.' "

"I dunno," Jess said, twirling the rose between her fingers and smiling at Cody. "I think mac and cheese could be romantic."

Jacob gaped, looking at his sister. "Did you hear that? We coulda made mac and cheese!"

Jess laughed. "Well, what _are_ we eating?"

"You'll see," Cody said.

"Yeah, you'll see," Jacob echoed with a grin.

Cody gestured toward the picnic table and waited until Jess sat down before taking his place across from her.

"Come on, guys," Jenna said to the kids. "That dinner isn't going to serve itself."

Jacob skipped ahead as Jenna, Kaitlyn, and Dylan walked toward the back door. "What if it did?" he asked excitedly. "Like floating stir fry!" He waved his hands in the air as if pieces of meat and vegetables were flying by.

"Jacob!" Kaitlyn cried, looking back at Jess.

Jacob's hands flew to his mouth. "Oops."

"Stir fry?" Jess asked in surprise. She looked at Cody. "That's what we had on our first date."

He smiled, glancing down momentarily, then meeting her eyes. "Yeah."

Her answering smile lit her eyes.

Casey stepped forward with a pitcher and poured two glasses of ice water as the other four disappeared inside.

"Lemme guess …" Jess said with a teasing smile. "Aqua Teen?"

Casey snorted. "You really do spend a lot of time with us."

Jess grinned happily, then smirked at Cody. "So what does that make you? Captain Stir Fry?"

He chuckled, looking down at the table.

She laughed. "Oh my God, was I right? I love that." Her smile softened. "And I love that you remembered what we ate on our first date."

"Of course I do," he said. "After the movie we ate at the Food Court. You said you and your sister used to split two orders so you could both have chicken and shrimp."

She smiled at the memory. "Yeah. Then you let me have some of your shrimp and I gave you some of my chicken."

"Yeah," he said quietly, his eyes on hers.

Casey looked on, hiding a happy grin. The back door opened, and Jenna held it while the other three trooped out. Dylan and Kaitlyn each set a plate down in front of Cody and Jess, then Jacob put a bowl of rice between them.

"Rice Man!" he cried.

Jess' eyes widened in exaggerated worry. "Uh oh, what happened to Cheese Dude?"

"I'm still Cheese Dude," Jacob assured her seriously. "Rice Man is my … my … what is it again, Cody?"

"Your alter ego."

"Yeah, my alter ego."

"Jacob Allen is your alter ego," Dylan told him.

"I got two alter egos," Jacob reasoned. He raised his shoulders in a big shrug. "Maybe three."

Jenna laughed. "Probably more." She smiled at her younger children. "Okay, gang, let's leave these two to their dinner."

"You're not eating with us?" Jess asked in surprise.

Jenna smiled. "Oh no, this is your anniversary. We just wanted to be a little part of it."

"Well, thank you," Jess said genuinely. "It makes it so much more special that you were."

Jenna's smile was warm, and she nodded to them. "Enjoy. Happy anniversary."

"Yeah!" Jacob exclaimed. "Happy anniversary! But next time, let's have a whole party! With cake!"

Jess laughed, and Cody looked on happily as she quickly hugged Kaitlyn beside her. He smiled gratefully to his family as they headed back inside, giving the two of them some privacy.

Jess looked at him and smiled. "I guess we should eat."

"Go ahead," he said, watching expectantly as she took some rice. He waited while she took a bite of her meal.

"Mmm," she said and swallowed. "This is way better than the mall stir-fry."

He beamed. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You want some shrimp?" he asked, offering her his plate.

She smiled softly and speared some from his plate.

Cody's eyes were drawn to something over her shoulder, and he chuckled suddenly.

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head in amusement, then nodded toward the house. Jess turned to see Jacob peeking out of the kitchen window. Kaitlyn's head appeared a moment later.

Jess laughed. "No Dylan?"

"He's worried we might be kissing."

She looked back at him and grinned, a slight flush to her cheeks.

The two heads disappeared when Jenna came to the window. She flashed a quick smile at Cody before closing the curtain.

Cody and Jess settled in to eat, talking companionably throughout the meal.

"Of course Mr. Kai made you section leader," Cody said. "You've got the most experience and you were practically doing the job last year anyway. You're gonna be great."

Jess smiled, her shoulders straightening almost imperceptibly. "Thanks. What about you? How was work this week?"

He nodded. "Good."

"How are things with Jordan?"

"Fine," he said with a shrug. "I mean, he's still a jerk, but we're on different projects right now so I don't see him that much. I'm just following Catherine's advice, doing the best job I can and not worrying about him."

"And the best job you can do is probably ten times better than him anyway."

Cody looked down. "I don't know …"

"I do," she said firmly, causing him to look up at her. "You said yourself your boss told you she was really impressed at how fast you picked everything up. That's why she's given you more responsibility."

He glanced down a little self-consciously but couldn't help a smile forming on his face. "Yeah, she did."

"See? I knew you'd do great."

His heart warmed at her unconditional support. He let out a happy sigh. As she looked around, smiling at the homemade tissue paper flowers, he asked, "So … good anniversary?"

She smiled broadly. "Great anniversary. And next year it'll be my turn to plan."

His eyes lit in surprise and pleasure. "Next year?"

"Yeah, next year."

"We'll be graduated," he said.

"Yeah, and headed to college."

He swallowed. "College …" he echoed uncertainly.

"But we'll still … be together … don't you think?"

"Yeah," he said immediately, and she smiled happily. He paused and took a deep breath. "I … I don't know what I'm gonna be doing in a year, or two years, or whatever … but I know that I … I like being your boyfriend. I like being with you." He glanced down at the place cards on the table, Kaitlyn's handiwork. "I like … that you like my family."

"I _love_ your family," she stressed. Looking at him, she bit her lip. "I love you."

Cody inhaled, his eyes widening. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest at her words and the sincerity in her gaze.

His mouth opened and closed twice, but no sound came out.

She shook her head. "It's okay, you don't have to–"

"I love you, too," he said in a rush. Her breath caught, and he smiled, repeating himself with more certainty. "I love you, too."

Her answering smile was full and bright. She leaned forward across the picnic table, and he did the same.

Before reaching her, he stopped suddenly, glancing at the house for any sign of observation.

"Hang on," he said, getting up.

Grabbing her hand, he urged her to stand, leading her around the picnic table and behind the tree several feet away. Turning toward her without another word, he leaned down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rising up on her tiptoes and kissing him back.

Her eyes were shining when she pulled back, grinning as she said, "Definitely a great anniversary."

"Yeah," he said quietly, his own smile splitting his face with joy as he channeled his youngest brother. "The best anniversary _ever_."

* * *

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